Rayne’s Tyson Foreman among Boxing Hall of Fame inductees

A total of 32 new members have been selected for induction into the Louisiana High School Boxing Hall of Fame this weekend on Saturday, June 28. The annual event will be held at the Sunset Events Center beginning at 2 p.m.

This will be the second induction ceremony as 33 former boxers and coaches made up the first Hall of Fame class a year ago.

The event is sponsored by the Louisiana High School Boxing Association which was formed last year with the objective being to establish this Hall of Fame, have an annual induction and host boxing reunions.

High school boxing began on a competitive basis in Louisiana in1931 and became one of the state’s most popular and successful sports. The highlight of each season was the state tournament that was held on the LSU campus from 1931 to 1949 and at Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette from 1950 until 1958 when boxing ceased to be a sponsored sport by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.

Heading up the list of inductees for 2014 are four national champions and six who were named the outstanding boxer at the state tournament.

National champions being recognized are Jordan Boudreaux and Harold Lee Landry of Scott and Donald Fourroux and Donald Gascon of Plaquemine.

Winners of the Brink’s trophy – given to the outstanding boxer at the state tournament – selected for induction are Lawrence Harmon and Eric Leger of Opelousas, Clarence Thibodaux of LaGrange High (Lake Charles), Eldridge Courrege and Bobby Broussard of New Iberia and Ralph Webb of Crowley.

Two-time state champions going in are Gilbert Bonin of Loreauville, Chester Carville of Catholic High (Baton Rouge), Dowell Fontenot of Vidrine, Jerry Besson of Plaquemine, Donald Stephenson and Achille Vidrine of Sacred Heart (Ville Platte), Don Stevens of Oak Grove, George Hanks and Harold Smith of Crowley, Donald Fontenot and Glynn Fontenot of LaGrange High (Lake Charles), Donald Rills and Curtis Latiolais of Opelousas, Tyson Foreman of St. Joseph High (Rayne), Pat Soileau of St. Edmunds High (Eunice), Winston Broussard of New Iberia and Donald Hebert of Milton.

The induction ceremony will also feature a reunion for boxers and their families and friends. Tickets for the event are $15 each and additional information can be obtained from Bobby Dupre at 337/945-4010 or Don Landry at 225/766-7349.